More Than 17,000 Game Industry Professionals Converge in San Francisco for Annual Week of Learning, Networking and Inspiration

SAN FRANCISCO, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Think Services' 2009 Game Developers Conference(R) (GDC) hosted more than 17,000 game industry professionals last week at San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center. The world's largest industry-only event dedicated to the advancement of interactive entertainment attracted the full spectrum of game industry professionals from known luminaries to aspiring and established game developers, to publishers and deal makers to members of the working press. With more than 500 lectures, panels, summits, tutorials and roundtable discussions covering all aspects of the games business, plus a robust Expo and Career Pavilion, the Game Career Seminar, the 11th Annual Independent Games Festival (IGF), the 9th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards, Game Connection America, and more, the five day conference provided innumerable opportunities for sharing knowledge, discussing opportunities, making new connections and celebrating the passion and dedication of fellow game-makers. GDC returns to the Moscone Center March 9-13, 2010.

Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo Co., Ltd. kicked-off the GDC09 main conference schedule with a keynote address providing an insight into his company's development processes and thoughts on the opportunities developers have on Nintendo's platforms Wii, DS and DSi . Hideo Kojima, Corporate Officer, Executive Producer and Director of Kojima Productions, delivered a second keynote address focusing on how he has conquered various development obstacles with creative game design, using the driving game design philosophies behind the Metal Gear series as reference. GDC09 also included the 11th Annual Independent Games Festival and the 9th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards. Erik Svedang's BlueberryGarden, an exploration game set in an ever-changing ecosystem, received top honors at the IGF, while Bethesda Softworks' epic post-apocalyptic open-world adventure, Fallout 3, received the Game of the Year Award at the Choice Awards.

"The success of this past week in San Francisco proves the resilience of the games industry," said event director Meggan Scavio. "It is a testament to the spirit of our more than 20 year old conference and community, and evidence of videogames' continued evolution into a mainstream form of entertainment, that the various constituents of the industry were able come together at GDC as they did year."

GDC09 also offered intensive tutorials, GDC Mobile, and a full lineup of summits focusing on emerging trends in the game industry. They included the AI Summit, the Casual Games Summit, the Game Outsourcing Summit, the IGDA Education Summit, the Independent Games Summit, the Localization Summit, the Serious Games Summit, and the Worlds in Motion Summit, all of which took place on the Monday and Tuesday of the week, March 23-24.

All Access Conference pass holders can continue learning post conference with access to over hundreds of viewable sessions from GDC09 and past Game Developer Conferences(R) via myGDC Vault. For more information on myGDC, the professional networking and scheduling tool of the Game Developers Conferences(R), visit
http://mygdc.gdconf.com/vault

A core provider of essential information to the professional game industry, the Think Services Game Group offers market-defining content, and drives community through its award winning lineup of print, online, event and research products and services. These include Game Developer Magazine, Game Developer Research, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com, GameCareerGuide.com, WorldsInMotion.biz, GameSetWatch.com, GamesOnDeck.com, SeriousGamesSource.com, the Game Developers Conference(R), the Game Developers Conference(R) Austin, the Game Developers Conference(R) Europe, the Game Developers Conference(R) China, GDC Mobile, the Game Career Seminars, the Independent Games Festival and Summit, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. To learn more, visit
www.tsgamegroup.com

About Think Services, a division of United Business Media

Think Services connects specialized communities worldwide using educational events, consulting, training, certification, membership, and innovative media. Providing comprehensive opportunities for people to learn from, network with, and inspire each other, Think Services builds strong brands and works within communities to foster a unique affinity with its products and services. The division's flagship products include the Game Developers Conference, the Webby Award-winning Gamasutra.com, Game Developer magazine, the International Customer Management Institute (ICMI), and HDI. Think Services is a subsidiary of
United Business Media, a global media and marketing services company with a market capitalization of more than $1.6 billion. To learn more, visit
www.think-services.com.